SIXTVS V PONT. OPT. MAX. S. PAVLO DOCTORI GENTIV[M] COL[VMNAM] ANTON[INAM

Column of Marcus Aurelius (called the Antonine Column) with the statue of Saint Paul.

Etching and engraving, 1589, signed and dated on the plate "Nicolaus van Aelst Bruxellensis formiis aeneis incis[am] dicauit Anno MDLXXXVIIII" in the first-state copies. Engraved by Ambrogio Brambilla -monogram AMBR on the pedestal in the first-state copies only - for the publisher Nicolas van Aelst.

Example in the second state, with the imprint "Si Stampano in Roma da gio Iacomo De Rossi alla Pace" replacing that of Van Aelst.

The first version of the print (c. 1595) depicts the church of San Pantaleo, followed by the buildings in the square; after a lengthy restoration, exorcisms, and a blessing, on October 27, 1588, the Romans were finally able to see the column, free of all obstructions, in all its splendor. The statue of the apostle, with the customary iconography of the sword commemorating his death by beheading, faced Via del Corso, but soon after, Sixtus V ordered the statue to be turned to face Saint Peter. The large bronze of the apostle Paul was created by the Florentine sculptor Costantino de Servi (1554-1622), who also worked for the Prince of Wales and Emperor Rudolf II.

In this second state, the plate is completely retouched to depict the urban changes in the square; we see Palazzo Chigi, formerly Aldobrandini, in its current form. In 1665, the building's structure was completed; only the finishing touches to the facades, such as the window frames and the doorway onto Piazza Colonna, remained to be completed. The alacrity with which the work proceeded meant that both Lievin Cruyl and Giovanni Battista Falda depicted the palace as finished in their engravings.

A fine impression, on contemporary laid paper, with wide margins, very good condition.

Bibliografia
Marigliani, Lo splendore di Roma nell’Arte incisoria del Cinquecento (2016), n. IV.22; C. D’Onofrio, 1965, p. 184; C. Witcombe, 2008, pp. 361, 364.